It is generally known that modern day building construction techniques have been increasingly directed toward the use of wallboard panels to construct walls and partitions. The wallboard materials generally used are commonly referred to as drywall, gypsum board, plasterboard, wood paneling, and the like. The wallboards are usually connected to studs which are suitably spaced according to local building codes.
While the construction techniques of such hollow walls has provided advantages, they also have many disadvantages with respect to repairing holes. When patching a hole in the existing wallboard, the wallboard is cutout around the damage, and patch wallboard is inserted and the seams plastered over. Often, the hole is between the studs leaving nothing to keep the patch wallboard flush with the existing wallboard. A common method is to cut and remove a large section of the existing wallboard extending from stud to stud, and securing a patch wallboard to the studs. While this method facilitates a repair of the damaged wallboard, it nevertheless is expensive and wasteful. In addition, the nature of such a repair requires that the patch wallboard be of a thickness identical to that of the existing wallboard so as to provide a continuous surface at the periphery of the repair. Also, since some types of wallboard such as drywall are not constructed to withstand substantial bending forces, the flexing of the wallboard repair panel between the studs presents a problem due to the absence of structural supports within the span. In most applications, since the stud-to-stud distance is approximately 16 inches, this problem of patch wallboard can cause problems of discontinuity at the surfaces between the patch wallboard and the surrounding wallboard portions.
Several other methods have been used to hold the patch wallboard flush with the existing wallboard while applying the plaster. Another method is to cut a patch wallboard using drywall such that a flap of the paper is left around the edges. The patch wallboard is inserted in the hole and the paper flap is then plastered over. This method undesirably requires a significant amount of precise cutting and plastering over the paper flap is difficult. A further method involves mechanically fastening a fastener behind the hole to back the patch wallboard, which is time consuming, difficult to precisely align the backing, and requires that the patch wallboard be of the same thickness as the existing wallboard. There are also commercially available screens to use in the patching the wallboard.
Several attempts have been made to overcome these disadvantages. U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,404 (Thaw) discloses a clip for repairing drywall. The clip is mounted on the sides of the hole in the drywall being repaired by wallboard gripping members 18 and 20. The patch wallboard is then pushed into the hole being repaired. The patch is held in place by a retaining member 24 which digs into the plaster between the paper surfaces of the drywall and retaining member 22. The outer paper surface of the drywall patch is not contacted with a surface of the clip. This type of clip does not align the outer surfaces of the patch and existing wallboard on a common plane.
Design Patent No. 391,149 (Gonzales) discloses a clip for repairing drywall or gypsum wallboard. This clip has a prong which digs into the material between the paper surfaces. This type of clip aligns the patch and existing wallboard using the inner surfaces. Thus, the thicknesses of the patch and existing wallboards must exactly match in order to achieve a suitable repair.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,474 (Cannarsa) discloses a clip for joining wallboard. This clip retains the wallboard by using teeth which dig into the wallboard material. There is no structure for gripping opposing surfaces of the patch wallboard.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,723 (Weber) discloses a wallboard clip for repairing holes in wallboard. The wallboard clip contains no structure for gripping opposing surfaces of the patch wallboard.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,528 discloses a patch fastener device for a plasterboard wall. The fastener device mounts to one surface of the patch plasterboard and one surface of the existing plasterboard with the use of adhesive strips. The fastener device contains no structure for gripping opposing surfaces of the patch wallboard.
None of the conventional wallboard repair clips contact the inside and outside surfaces of the patch wallboard as well as the outside surface of the existing wallboard and the side surface of the existing wallboard being repaired to secure the patch wallboard inside the existing wallboard in all directions.
Furthermore, conventional clips do not easily align the outer surfaces of the patch wallboard and existing wallboard on a common plane.
Trades persons, such as electricians and plumbers, routinely access the interior of hollow walls to make repairs or new installations. Usually, the portion of the wallboard removed to access the interior of the hollow wall is discarded as undesirable waste. Furthermore, the repair of the hole formed is difficult and time consuming using the above described conventional wallboard repair clips and methods. Therefore, there is a need for an efficient method which reduces the amount of waste material, reduces the amount of time required to repair the hole, and reduces the level of skill necessary to repair the hole.